Occupational Health and Safety Specialists in South Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$67,270
after federal, FICA and South Carolina tax
Tax takes
$20,810
23.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$72,196
South Carolina costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in South Carolina — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$88,080
Kept after tax
$67,270
Worth in national money
$72,196
State rank
28
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. South Carolina is 28 of 51 states for this job, with a middle wage of $88,080. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within South Carolina this is well-paid work. Of 492 occupations with published figures in the state, this job ranks 76 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Here is where South Carolina does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $88,080 you keep $67,270, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $72,196 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $93,740, because the best-paid pull it up.
- South Carolina ranks 28 of 51 for occupational health and safety specialists at $88,080. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Ranked against every occupation South Carolina publishes a median for, occupational health and safety specialists sits 76 of 492 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- After federal, FICA and South Carolina income tax, retained pay for occupational health and safety specialists on $88,080 is $67,270. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $72,196 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $93,740 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Occupational Health and Safety Specialists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $57,520 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $88,080 |
| Top tenth earn over | $135,940 |
| This salary | $88,080 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in South Carolina | $67,270 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $70,794 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$657 |
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $83,070 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$907 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 93 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $88,080 as a midpoint for South Carolina, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $57,520 and the ninetieth is $135,940 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $67,270 take-home in South Carolina comes from $88,080. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 76 of 492.
- Two cautions on $72,196, the adjusted value of that $88,080 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of South Carolina. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 76 of 492 locally.
- The South Carolina median of $88,080 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $57,520 to $135,940. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $67,270, from $88,080, assumes a single South Carolina filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 76 of 492 locally, and the state ranks 28 of 51 for it.
- This $72,196 adjusted figure, worked from $88,080, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 76 of 492 in the state. The occupation ranks 76 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $93,740 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $57,520 and the top tenth $135,940 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. South Carolina is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $72,196 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; South Carolina then takes its own share, leaving $67,270.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in South Carolina is $93,740. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($57,520) and the ninetieth ($135,940) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
South Carolina's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $72,196 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $67,270 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and South Carolina income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.